In Due Time
by AliJo
Summary: The Hyper force, with the help of an ally from their forgotten past, prepare for the ultimate battle against the Skeleton King for the final time. During their quest, they find out more about themselves and the past that made them heroes. Will Chiro be willing to do whatever it takes to end this? Contains spova. Like alot. Completely rewritten and re published. PLEASE REVIEW
1. Chapter 1

**OKAY, so I know I said I was re writing this, well now I'm re writing it again. THE RE WRITING HAS BEEN DOUBLED! Mainly because I feel this is one of the better stories I've thought of and I keep thinking of way to make it better but they all involve tweaking, so I swear this is the last time. And I SWEAR I will not leave it dangling in fanfiction space so that the few who actually enjoy it cry tears of hatred. I own nothing!**

_"What's going on, Chiro? You look like you're preparing for war!"_

_"The biggest war Shuggazoom has ever seen."_

The team was gathered in the super robot with their collected allies. With the Skeleton King at his worst, they needed all the help they could get. As determined as Chiro was, he was unsure as to what he was going to do exactly. Time was limited, and there was scarcely any room for failure. He couldn't help but think what would happen if they failed. Life under Skelton King's rule? No, that wouldn't happen; he wouldn't let it. But even with extra assistance from all of their allies, would it be enough? It would have to be. But. . . Nevertheless, he couldn't let these thoughts distract him; he needed to lead this team, after all.

"So, what's the plan, Chiro?" Otto asked, bringing back from his thoughts.

"The plan is to think of a plan," Chiro replied grimly. "What can we do that will be enough? Skelton King has never been more powerful!"

"That may be true," said Aurora Six. "But neither has the Hyper Force."

"That's right." said Tiqudo. "Whatever you need done, we're happy to oblige."

"We're all in this together!" Suupa agreed.

"No matter what!" Jinmay added, taking Chiro's hand.

"I thank you, fellow warriors, for the support you have presented," said Antauri, standing before them all. "This mission is not an easy one, but worthwhile nonetheless. It is important now to stand together, and I thank you for your courage and allegiance."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Antauri." Chiro agreed, standing next to him. "We don't have much time, so we're gonna need a distraction to but us some time to come up with a real strategy. . . not to mention the safety of the citizens is important. . ."

"Leave that to us," Nikita said, and the entirety of their allies nodded in agreement and made their way to get into positions.

Chiro nodded in gratitude. "Thank you, all of you. We'l be in constant contact; Otto has communicators for all of you."

"And Sprx thought I was wasting my time making these! Hehe." Otto remarked gleefully, distributing them.

"Just a moment," said Gibson, "Where exactly is Sprx?"

Chiro, Jinmay and the monkeys gathered outside Sprx's room, knocking and calling his name but with no success.

Chiro sighed. "He must still be upset," he said. "Nova, why don't you try?"

"Why me?" Nova asked. "I mean, I'll try, but what makes you think he'll even listen to me?"

"Well because…" began Otto. "Wait, why will he listen to her?"

"Well, Otto, because. . . well because, well you surely know, Nova." Gibson offered, frankly at a lose for words.

"No."

"Well it's just that, come on, Nova, like you don't know." Said Chiro, having the same issue.

"You do have a certain way of. . . Capturing his attention" offered Antauri.

"So you want me to hit him?"

"Well, no.' said Gibson. "At least not this time, anyway."

"Would someone like to make a little sense?" asked Nova.

"Nova, I'm afraid we can't be the ones to tell you," Said Antauri. "It has to be Sprx. You'll see in time."

"I'm not so sure I will."

"It's just well, Nova. . . what I think they mean is, well. . . You said you loved him." Jinmay offered

"Well, yeah," she said. "He's my best friend; I couldn't stand seeing him so. . . Vile. I mean I- wait, you guys thought? I mean, you thought that me a-and Sprx..?

Everyone nodded.

"S-P-R-X-7-7? Sprx?" asked Nova with a hint of a nervous laugh. "And me?"

Everyone nodded again.

"I mean I- it's just that. . .." Now _she _was at a lose for words. She never imagined she's be put in this situation. "He's my **friend**. I'll go talk to him, because that's what _friends_do."

The team let out a collective sigh as they left Nova to talk to Sprx. She gently knocked on the door.

"I'm afraid she's in denial." Antauri said with a small shake of his head.

"But why is it so hard for her, Antauri?" asked Jinmay.

"Nova's biggest fear is losing her nerve," said Antauri. "But she doesn't want to have another weakness."

"Sprx? Sprx?" Said Nova, knocking on his door. Why won't you come out? You have to come out eventually, and I'm not leaving until you do. You know me, I'm stubborn. I'll stay out as long as I have to."

Sprx's room was pitch black, the memories of what he did, of what he almost did, replaying over and over inside his head. It was horrible; he couldn't believe he had let that happen. If he couldn't forgive himself, how could he let her?

"Nova, please. Just leave me alone." Said Sprx from inside. "I don't want to talk to anyone."

"Not even me?" her voice containing a tone of sorrow.

"Especially you."

"Awh, c'mon Sprx, I hate seeing you like this." she said, meaning every word. "Am I gonna have to come in there and punch some sense into you?"

Silence.

"Sprx, please, we're all worried about you."

Silence.

"Sprx, I know you're feeling horrible but you can't blame yourself. I know you; I know you'd never even think of doing anything like what the fire of hate made you do. You were a victim, as much as the rest of us were. But that's all in the past, and if you live in the past then you're only gonna make things worse. C'mon, we really need you right now. So what do ya say? Sprx?"

Her response was once again pure silence; she sighed and turned to walk away. Suddenly the door flew open and Sprx ran out and embraced her, catching her slightly off guard.

"Thanks, Nova," he said. "I needed that."

She returned the embrace and smiled. "Anytime." she said, happy to have her friend back. "You ready to kick some butt?"

"Yeah! But, uh, first, Nova, before all of this starts, there's something I gotta say." he began. "Now I-"

But of course, the spova confession is always interrupted and this time is no exception. The Super Robot suddenly took a hard blow from the battle undergoing outside.

"C'mon!" said Nova. "We gotta see what's going on!"

The both ran to the control room.

"What's the hub bub, Kid?" Sprx said as he and Nova entered. The entire team looked happy to see Sprx back to his regular self.

"The entirety of our gathered allies has volunteered to hold off the formless while we develop a strategy." Gibson answered.

"Which is?"

"Still a work in progress."

"Monkey Team! Come in monkey team!" came Super Quasier's voice from one of the communication devices.

"Super Quasier, is everything all right?" Chiro asked. "Do you need back up?"

"We can handle him for now, but we all agree it's in your best interest if you and your team relocate." The sounds of explosions and lasers came from the background.

"What? We can't just leave you guys here!"

"Do not worry about us Chiro," Nikita said, with obvious struggle in her voice as she battled a Skelton minion.

"We can handle him for now," Master Offey added. "It is you he wants and it remains important that you are safe. I'm sure you can find a way to defeat him, but for now. . ."

"This is for the best," added Jinmay, a tone of sadness in her voice. She made her way to exit the Super Robot.

"Jinmay, what are you doing?" Chiro asked, confused.

"I'm gonna go help fight; I'm gonna do whatever it takes to help you guys win this war."

"But you-!"

"I'll be fine, Chiro! Haven't I always been?"

Chiro sighed and gave her a hug. "I'm gonna hold you to that."

They broke the embrace and Jinmay ran to join the others.

"Monkeys mobilize!"

The team went to their separate machines and prepared to deploy.

"Gibson, engage stealth mode, we must leave as discretely as possible." said Antauri.

"Affirmative, Antauri." The robot jetted from the ground and instantly turned invisible (I'm not sure if the robot ever had this feature, but it makes sense to me).

"Any idea where we're going Chiro?" Nova asked.

"Uh. . . No, not exactly."

"So, what? We just fly around the galaxy brainstorming ideas?" Sprx remarked.

"Not necessarily," said Antauri. "I do believe I have a suggestion."

"Oh oh oh! Wonder Fun Meat World?" Otto asked happily. The entire team made a face of disgust.

"Otto, please do refrain from you coherent babbling; this is serious." said Gibson.

"Anyway, what did you have in mind, Antauri?" asked Chiro.

"Just follow my lead, I'm not sure if it'll help our situation much, but it certainly cannot hurt."

Antauri lead them to a planet none of them had ever seen before. It was small, almost hidden from sight by a mass of asteroids. The team landed cautiously and simply could not fathom why Antauri had brought them here. They excited the robot and saw the land looked almost devoid of life.

"Antauri, what is this place?" Chiro asked.

"I do say I'm beginning to have a drastic sense of déjà vu." Gibson commented.

"The place is new but the presence is not." Said Antauri. "I sense she is near."

"Who's she?" asked Otto, but Antauri did not reply.

The team walked quite a ways until happened upon a tiny village. The team walked down until they were spotted by a villager, who took one look at them and ran in the opposite direction.

"Talk about a warm welcome," Sprx whispered.

"Antauri, could you please explain what's going on here?" asked Gibson.

"All in due time."

They then noticed that the same villager who had seen them before was now returning, but this time with a crowd of people. Chiro instantly thought it was an attack.

"Get ready, hyper force," he said. "We don't know what they're capable of."

The monkeys got into formation, and once the villagers got to them they stopped. A single voice came from the crowd.

"Now what the devil could you all possibly be fussing over, it's not like-" from the crowd emerged a young, pale girl, older and taller than Chiro, with long raven hair tied back in a pony tail.

"Antauri?" she asked, stunned. "No! Hyper force? It can't- Is it really you?"

"It is indeed Alana." Antauir replied, smiling. "We're in need of your assistance."

She gave a small nod, her eyes were big and she looked as if she were about to cry. "I thought you would eventually. Come, we'll need to talk. Folllow me."

The team did so, but the confusion over the identity of the girl was all too confounding. Why was she so familiar? How did Antauri know her?

The team packed into Alana's small but still quite adorable room. She seemed flustered, scared, and delighted all at once and simply hadn't a clue how to process it all.

"Pardon the mess, I don't have company often." she said with a giggle. "Please sit, sit. You must be tired, are you hungry? Bananas? I have bananas. . . No wait you didn't like bananas . . ."

"I like bananas!" offered Otto.

Alana smiled. "As I recall, there really is nothing you won't eat."

"So, if you don't mind me asking, u, who are you exactly?' Chiro asked.

"Oh," she turned around sharply, dropping all the bananas she was holding. "Right! That is a very important piece of information after all, I'm sure you were all, um. . . well, it's not the easiest thing to explain, you see. . . Antauri?"

"Alana is, or perhaps rather was, the Alchemist's daughter."

The entire team shared the same look of shock, not exactly knowing what to think of it. So many questions scurried through each of their brains, but they all remained silently stunned until Chiro decided to speak.

"So you're the Skeleton King's. . . daughter?"

Her face narrowed and she sharply inhaled. "No," she said coldly. "I was the Alchemist's daughter. There is a difference." She cleared her throat, and joined the team in sitting. "Now, how exactly do you need my help?"

"We may require some. . . information,' Antauri replied. "Your memories."

"Oh," she said quietly. "I see, but. . . oh! Where are my manners?" She sharply reached out her hand to Chiro and gave a big, if not somewhat awkward, smile. 'I haven't properly introduced myself to Chrio. I'm Alana. . . but you sort of knew that. . I'm sorry, I'm not the best at meeting people."

Chiro smiled awkwardly and took her hand. "Uh, no problem. But, uh, how exactly did you know my name?"

Antauri let out a small chuckle. "I've managed to maintain contact with Alana and I've kept her updated on the team, including you."

"But how'd you even know where she was, Antauri?" Nova asked.

"Before I acquired this new robotic form, and my soul was lost, I was able to wander and view the entirety of my memories, even seemingly forgotten ones. Before the Alchemist became the Skeleton King, she was a major part of our lives and I thought her to be an important ally."

Alana smiled. "But how, exactly?"

"You were closer the Alchemist than any of us, and I find it would help to know more about his . . . Transformation." said Antauri. "What you remember could ultimately save the universe."

"So, no pressure kid." joked Sprx.

Alana chuckled nervously. "It's not exactly a memory I like revisiting, but I'll try," she said. "What is it that you want to know?"

"Try just describing what happened," Chiro said. 'Ya know, when he. . ."

"Changed," finished Alana, he voice choking back sadness. "I remember he had so much good within him, which is why I think. . . Whatever it was chose him. He didn't know how to fight it, so he trained all of you, to try and keep good in the universe. To fight him, to fight whatever it was he was becoming. The last few days I remember seeing him as my father, he acted so distant, like he was in pain. I thought he was sick, but he wouldn't let me see him. He sent to live here on Giptarf, far away from him. He never told me why."

"So what do you think happened?" Otto asked.

"Something overpowered him," answered. 'Something. . . Something . . ."

"Something opposite as to what he was," finished Antauri. "The only thing that could defeat the evil that overcame your father was the Alchemist, so it got to him before he knew what was happening."

"So what we need to do is find something as good as the Alchemist was," said Sprx.

"It's not as simple as that, Sprx," said Antauri. "The Alchemist had great powers and the evil now uses them for evil."

"But he's not wrong," volunteered Alana, getting up with a look of inspiration in her eyes.

"Well, there's a first," remarked Nova.

"I have read, somewhere, of several item said to have untold power," Alana began, getting up and moving to her bookshelf and flipping through several books. "They are intended for good, but if they were to fall into the wrong hands, well. . . I think you can imagine."

"Where can we find them?" asked Chiro.

"Well -ah here we go," she said, finding what she was looking for. "It's all a system of riddles and puzzles and what not, I could never decipher their location exactly, but I do believe they could help you in your quest."

"How?" asked Otto.

"Well, they could contradict the Skelton King's power. By themselves they really don't have much effect, but if they are combined just right the possibilities are unlimited."

"May I see the book?" asked Gibson, she handed it to him. "Yes, complicated but not completely untransferrable. What do you think Chiro?"

"I say it's worth a shot," he replied. "At this point, I say anything goes."

"If there's anything else I can do, please do not hesitate to contact me." said Alana.

"Don't you wanna come with us?" masked Nova.

"Who me? No, oh no. With all the lasers and the boom and the AHHHHHHH, I just don't see how I fit into that equation; I bruise easily. I couldn't possibly be of much assistance."

"Alana, I do believe it would be helpful if you did come along," said Antauri. "That way, not only could we call on you for information, but we could protect you.'"

"Protect me?" she said. "Protect me from. . .?" But the look in his eyes was the all the answer she needed. "Oh, all right. Just allow me a few minutes to gather a few things." And she rushed away to do so as the team made their way to the robot.

"Wait! Antauri!" Alana whispered loudly. "Are things the same as the last time we spoke with, uh, you know. . . "

Antauri gave a tiny smile. "Yes."

Alana let out a groan. "Oh, it must be so frustrating!"

Sprx turned to Antauri. "Hey, Antauri, what was that about?"

From inside the house they heard Alana exclaim: "Oh of course HE wouldn't know!"

"All in due time, Sprx," said Antauri with a small smile. "All in due time."

**So that's chapter one! Some of you might have noticed how I changed some things up, but I think it's for the better! Please review, it is greatly appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2

**The rewrite insanity continues! Maybe this time I'll make it to chapter 3. I own nothing, as always.**

"So what's the plan, Antauri?" Sprx asked when everyone had boarded the robot. "Where do we go from here?"

"Wherever the book takes us," answered Antauri. "Gibson, can you make anything of Alana's book?"

"Slightly," he answered. "Like she said, it's all puzzles and riddles. Once we find the location, it looks like it'll be a scavenger hunt of sorts."

"Sounds fun!" chimed in Otto.

"All right Gibson, have a clue where we should start?" asked Chiro.

"I have a general idea, uploading coordinates now," he answered.

"All right monkey team, let's mobilize!" said Chiro, as the robot turned around and went off at full speed. Little did they know, they were being watched. Mandarin chuckled as he told what he had seen to his dark lord.

"Very good Mandarin, follow them," he ordered. "I require time to regain my full strength."

"Yes, master," Marin said. "The Hyper force's ludicrous allies present little trouble I take it?"

"They pose little threat," chuckled the villain as he looked at the fallen heroes, restricted against the walls of his lair.

"You'll never get away with this!" protested Master Offey. 'The Hyper Force will stop you."

Skeleton King walked toward him slowly and said challengingly: "I'd like to see them try."

Meanwhile, the Hyper Force was heading to what seemed like the middle of nowhere.

"Gibson, you do know where we're going, right?" Alana asked , slightly worried.

"Er. . . Somewhat." he replied. "Keep your eyes out for a small planet."

"Well that shouldn't be hard since THERE'S ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING ELSE OUT HERE!"

"Nova, calm down!" said Chiro.

"Yeah, since there's nothing else out here it'll be easier to find the planet!" piped in Otto.

"Yeah it. . . 'began Sprx, but suddenly stopped.

"Yeah?" asked Nova. "Sprx, are you okay?"

"Fine, fine," he responded, though his voice suggested otherwise.

"Are you sure Sprx?" Antauri asked, concerned.

"Yeah," he said with a chuckle. "Just uh, got a little distracted."

"By what? There's nothing out here." asked Nova.

"Not for awhile anyway," said Gibson, changing the subject. 'If we increase our speed, my scanner says we should quickly approach an object of great mass."

"Is that it?" asked Chiro.

"I should think so," replied Gibson "Though there is only one way to find out."

The robot went forward at hyper speed, with Mandarin following close behind.

"Are we there yet?" asked Otto for about the billionth time.

"No," replied Gibson, becoming more and more irritated by the second.

'Oh," he said. "Are we there yet?"

"Otto, the sooner you stop asking, the sooner we'll get there." Said Gibson.

"Okay." There was a moment of silence. "So…now?"

"Otto, when we get there we'll be sure to tell you." Said Nova.

"Ok,' he said happily. 'How bout now?"

"Otto does it look like we're there yet?" asked Chiro.

"I'm just trying to pass the time!" said Otto.

"Yes, your game of wits has certainly helped make the last two hours more bearable," remarked Gibson sarcastically.

"Exactly!" said Otto, delighted. The team collectively sighed and Alana let out small chuckle.

"Wait! I think I see it!" added Nova. "It looks. . . Deserted."

Nova was right. The planet was small, well for a planet anyway, and appeared as if it supported no life. It consisted of dark browns and red as if it floated around space with no purpose.

"You sure this is the right place, Gibson?" asked Chiro unsure.

'Not really," he replied. 'We'll just have to search." The team landed the robot and exited it in the usual manner. Sprx walked off last, and had a huge headache. He didn't want to tell the others, because he was afraid they'd make a big deal about it, but it was getting worse and worse and harder to hide.

"Sprx, you sure you're okay?' he heard Nova ask with concern in her voice.

"Yeah, just fine," he said, trying to mange his usual cocky tone of voice. "Just a little jet lag I guess."

He could tell she didn't believe him.

'So what are we looking for?" asked Chiro.

Gibson held the book in his hands. "Well, this page appears to describe a "planet in the middle of nowhere, floating with purpose but without care" and this one seems to fit the description. It says were looking for something whose "power blooms below your eyes and cannot root in soil of lies."

"Oh, I love poetry!" Otto exclaimed silly. 'It's so. . . Poetic."

"But what does it mean?" wondered Antauri aloud.

"Does it means bloom like a flower?" asked Nova

"Yeah, we came all the way out to the middle of nowhere for a flower," said Sprx sarcastically. Nova shot him a death glare. "I mean, yeah! We came all the way out here for a flower!" he repeated in a more happy tone, though Nova's expression did not change as she kept moving. Sprx felt his headache returning.

The team didn't know where to go from there.

"Ugh! This is stupid!" complained Chiro. "How are we supposed to find whatever this is on this huge planet?"

"I assume we'll need to look in an unlikely place," offered Antauri. 'If these items are as powerful as Alana said, finding them must be a challenge."

"Well. . . maybe it is a flower," offered Alana.

"Okay, so if it is a flower, then we should look where flowers wouldn't normally be!" said Otto.

"Otto, that is. . . Actually a good idea." said Gibson, surprised. " Flowers. . . can't root. . . Snow!"

The team looked around and saw they were walking toward where snow was falling.

"How odd," commented Gibson. "It drastically changes from one part of the planet to another. Curious."

"Great." said Nova unhappily. "Just what we need: snow!" The team looked at Sprx for a response and his usual comment.

"What?" he asked.

"Aren't ya gonna…?" began Chiro. "Never mind."

Needless to say, Sprx was not acting like himself and everyone noticed. As they moved further ahead, the temperature became colder and the snow began falling harder and harder.

"Okay, I spy with my little eye, something white." Said Otto.

"Snow." Said Nova.

"Right! Okay now something-."

"Snow." Said Chiro.

"Right again! Okay now something white."

"Otto, the answer's the same as it has been for the last hour! SNOW!" exclaimed Sprx.

"Nope. That time it was Antauri." Replied Otto with a grin

The entire team gave a groan and then suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Alana asked Antauri who was leading the way.

"I sense we are close." He responded, and then led them into a nearby cave.

"I think we should search in there, it'll at least get us out of this storm." said Chiro and the team did so.

The cave was dark, except for in the middle were a single dormant lily stood, small, surrounded by snow and slightly wilted. It as if it was on display, waiting for them.

"I don't think this is what we're looking for, it doesn't look all 'powerful' and what not." Said Chiro. "Are you sure, Antauri?"

"Yes. All we need to do is wait until it blooms." Said Antauri.

"Well how long will that take?" asked Otto.

"I'm not sure; we must be patient." he said "Who wishes to watch while we set up camp?"

"I will." Said Nova and Sprx at the same time.

"You can do it." Said Nova.

"No, no. Ladies first." Said Sprx.

"I insist."

"No_, I_ insist

"Why don't you just work together?" suggested Otto.

"Fine with me." Said Sprx, a little too politely. "That is if you don't mind Nova."

"Um, yeah. Okay, sure." She said, a little unsure.

So as the rest of the team went to set up camp, Sprx and Nova went by the lily. And waiting for a flower to bloom is only so exciting, and when there's nothing else to do, eventually you have to talk. And needless to say, things between these two could become a little …awkward.

"Soooo… ya think it will bloom soon?" asked Sprx.

"I hope so." Said Nova.

"So you think..?"

"Sprx why are you doing this?" asked Nova.

"Doing what?"

"You're not, you're not acting like yourself," she said. "Ya know, usually you're annoying and stupid."

"And... that's good?" he asked.

"Well it-… you know what I mean." She said. "What's up?"

"Well, why do you want me to be annoying and stupid?" he asked back. "All it ever got me was a punch in the arm."

"But that was the Sprx I knew, who was my friend." Said Nova.

"Exactly."

"Awwwww, those two are so cute together." Alana remarked from across the cave, helping set up camp. "Even now."

"What do you mean 'even now'?" asked Chiro.

"Oh, just that before, ya know, way back when," She began. "He'd be around her constantly and she'd always…. hurt him. It was so sweet."

"Well, that's pretty much how it is now." Chiro said with a laugh.

"I remember one time, before they had rockets. They were sitting on a high tree branch and he was just bugging the heck out of her until she just had it and finally she pushed him off as if he was flying. Now, he wasn't hurt or anything, but it just made my father laugh. He turned to me and said 'Whenever those two get together Sprx will fly'."

"So they've never gotten along?" asked Chiro.

"It's not whether or not they've gotten along, but whether or not they've stuck together." Said Antauri.

Alana looked at him admiringly. "That sounded like something my dad would've said."

Later, around the camp fire…

"And he turned to his notes to see… the equation was off by .0000000000023%!" said Gibson, finishing his 'scary story'.

Otto screamed.

"Otto, you really found that scary?" asked Chiro.

"Of course! Fractions are horrible!" he said.

"All right then." Said Alana. 'Who wants to go next?"

"I've kind of had enough scary stories," said Chiro. "Why don't you tell us a story, Alana?"

"Me?"

"Yeah! What were the monkeys like before I met them, I mean you must remember some coo stuff!"

"Well. . . I guess I do. . ." she started. "What do you want to know?"

"Anything!" said Chiro, truly interested. The rest of the team leaned in to hear better.

"Okay, um. . . well. . . I remember the day my father first introduced me to you guys. I didn't know why he brought monkeys, but I thought it was cool so I never questioned it. He said you guys were special, and that I'd see why soon enough. I just thought you guys were the coolest thing ever."

"Aww shcuck," said Otto blushing.

Alana smiled. "He said you eached possessed a trait that made you aluable, but he needed to see if you could work as a team. So he let me help him obsereve you all and how you interected in this huge jungle like environment." She gave a small laugh. "I remember how Otto would always be gathering twigs and rocks and stuff and would try and build things from them. Like launchers and things like that and you would always try to test them yourself, but you'd always end up getting hurt, but you'd always keep trying until you were done and then you'd go and make something else. My father said you were a mechanic genius"

"Aw! Yer making me blush!" he replied.

"And Gibson, oh Gibson was so much fun to observe—"

"Really? Now I find that hard to belive," Sprx interrupted, receiving a rude glare from the blue monkey.

"Whenever we would go to study the team, he'd come up to us and I swear it was as if you were studying us and taking mental notes on what we were doing. You were always collceting samples of things, organizing them into catergoires, and at one point you even staring doing math. You'd take a stick and just draw number in the dirt for fun. I mean, I was just nlown away! I had never seen anything so amazing. That's when it became all too clear that you all weren't regular monkeys at all."

"Well old habits do die hard I suppose." Gibson remarked with a grin.

"Does Sprx still pick on you?" she whispered.

"Relentlessly,' he replied humnosly.

"I remember one time you tried explaining one of your equations to him and he got so fed up he just erase the entire thing. You were soooooooooooo upset."

"Wow, even then he couldn't stand your letures Gibson!" said Chiro with a laugh.

"Even then he displayed no interest in furthering his intelligence," added Gibson.

"Yeah yeah yeah," interrupted Sprx. "So what was I like?"

"Oh my goodness, you were the absolute worst,' she said with a laugh. "I mean that in the best possible way of course. You nearly gave my father a heart attack on more than one occasion. Always swinging from tree to tree like you were flying, constanly climbing, you_ hated_ being on the ground." She smiled. "I remember, whenever Nova was around you'd make an extra effort to climb as high as you could, and you always made sure she was watching. But she never seemed all that impressed,' she added with a laugh. "But that didn't stop you."

"Oh and Nova, I remember I worried about you at first, being the only girl and how that had to suck a little bit, but you managed to hold your own. Quite honestly, for the longest time I was a little bit scared of you, you were not a force to be reckoned with. Eventuall, I started to look up to you" Nova smiled. "You were just as much of a daredevil as Sparky here. You were always making these little obstacle courses for yourself; I remember Otto even helped you out a few times. And you could never say no to a challenge. But then again, the only one willing to challenge you was Sprx. Which was not such a smart move on his part." She added in a loud whisper. "When he wasn't in the treetops, he was usually by your side, chattering about something. You'd usually end up pushig him off the tree, but he'd always come back. And I'd ask my father why he just didn't leave you alone. He told me it was because. . ."

She stopped, and saw just how engrossed the team, as well as herself, had become in her memory. It then occurred to her that this part may be a bit more private.

"Well, what did he say?" asked Nova, the only one who truly didn't know the answer."

"Um. . . well, he said it was a mystery." She said. "Maybe he was the dumb monkey, hehe." She added with a most unconvincing chuckle, starring at the ground.

"What about Antauri?" asked Chiro.

"Oh, Antauri,' she began racking her brain. "He was always looking out for the rest of you. I liked to call him 'The Voice of Reason.' Whenever there was a conflict, everyone went to him. He was always so calm, never yelling or bickering. Pretty much exactly like he is now." She smiled at him.

"But Mandarin" he face and voice became distraught and angry. "I never like Mandarin, I thought he was such a jerk. My father said he'd make a great leader, and I thought he'd gone insane. I see now that the darkness that started to steal my father was already in Mandrin, but Mandarin had it by choice. My father was manipulated and made Mandarin the leader, unknowingly in attempt to sabatoge you all."

Mandarin stood at the mouth of the cave, listening. _Oh, it's this one! _As he still remembered her vividly_, this brat could ruin all my master's work!_

She sighed. "But now you have Chiro, and that's a great improvement, if I do say so myself."

"I'll second that," added Antauri, and the group nodded in agreement.

"Okay okay now it's my turn my turn!" exclaimed Otto.

"Alright then, give it a shot Otto." Said Chiro with a laugh.

"Okay, this one's reaaaaaaaaaaally scary!" Otto announced with a sweet grin.

Nova looked to Sprx to say something, like _you know if you get scared I can hold your hand_or _don't be afraid Nova, I'll protect you._ And little did she know, he was going to, but she always asked him to stop, so he didn't bother.

"Alright, once there was a orange with huge feet, with toenails that were never clipped. And one day he went to the store to buy ointment …"

Nova's attention wandered from Otto's tale to behind him where the lily was. She saw a small light form around it. Then as it became brighter she noticed that it opened slightly. She let out an excited scream.

"Relax Nova! It's not real!" said Otto.

"No, not that!" said Nova. "That!" she said pointing to the lily.

The team turned to look and saw what she meant, and they all moved in closer. The lily opened a bit more to reveal its inner light.

"Gibson, dim the fire," said Antauri and he did so.

It became pitch black and the lily fully opened. As soon as it did, it released a force that ricocheted around the team. Small but powerful, the team ducked to avoid it. Just as it was about to hit Nova, Sprx dove in front of her. The ball of energy hit his head and then went on speeding through.

At that moment, Mandarin took that as his cue to step out of hiding and secure the item for his master.

"Mandarin! Act now while he is fallen!" he heard Skelton Kind order.

"Yes, my lord!" he obliged, moving to Sprx.

The team was preoccupied trying to dodge and not damage the source of raw power that they didn't notice Mandarin until it was too late.

Nova was the first to notice, she looked on in horror was the fallen Sprx was shot with something by Mandarin and slowly rose up looking, somewhat. . .

"Sprx, no!" she said, but she knew it was too late. He was. . . Evil

"Yes! His essence takes well to this one, already so unstable!" remarked Mandarin happily. The rest of the team saw what had happened.

'No, Sprx, fight it!" pleaded Chiro.

"I-I have no choice." he said, trying. "It's more powerful than the Skeleton King. It's- its unlimited power. And no one can stop me." He looked up and gave an evil cackle and raised his magnet to Nova. "Not even you, the so-called warrior."

What could Nova do? She couldn't fight back; she couldn't hurt Sprx, well not so extremely. _But this isn't Sprx_, she thought, _but I know he's in there somewhere. He has to be._She lifted her fists, and collected her fierce nerve back.

"Sprx, I don't want to hurt you," she said. "But it's the only way."

Then she lunged toward him with all her might, but just as she was about to throw a punch, she saw not this evil minion, but the old Sprx, and couldn't _really_ hurt him; she couldn't really try to bring him down. She couldn't fight, not this way. He knew she couldn't.

"Oh, poor little girl," mocked the evil Sprx. "can't fight back, can't hurt the one you love!"

"Stop it!"

"Oh, she wants me to stop," he said again, and he and Mandarin laughed. "Well since you asked so nicely, I'll leave you with this nice parting gift." He ascended into the air, and hit the walls of the cave with such force that the team was covered in an avalanche.

By the time the managed to free themselves, Sprx was gone.

"I don't understand,' said Nova, heartbroken. "What happened? I thought we got the fire of hate out of him!"

"What do you want with me?" implored Sprx, in the Skeleton King's lair. "I've nearly destroyed my friends, I won't hesitate on you!"

"Now now, always the lively one," mocked the Skeleton King. "I want nothing with you except to have you gone!" he lifted his hand and Sprx rose into the air. He struggled and was gasping for air.

"What do you want?" asked Sprx.

"The boy!" bellowed Skeleton King as he threw the simian to the ground, hard.

"Losing our touch are we?" said Sprx. "have to resort to this?"

"Have you forgotten you are my slave?" asked Skeleton King. "It is I who controls you, your thoughts, your very will! And you dare to speak out against me?"

He sent a wave a deadly amethyst light in Sprx's direction, and Sprx couldn't fight it and was changing back.

"Never, my dark lord." He said, with an evil grin. "What is it you wish?"

**DRAMA! Reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimers and what not, continuing!**

"I don't what happened," said Alana, flipping through her book. "You may have destroyed the Fire of Hate, but Sprx's soul was still weak from it; still vulnerable. Whatever Mandarin did to him, it didn't have to try too hard to control him."

"He was acting differently," said Nova, quietly.

Alana nodded. "I do have a theory, but I hope I'm wrong."

"Go on.' said Antauri

"When the Skelton King was resurrected, his power increased tenfold, giving him numerous new abilities. He can, I believe, separate whatever first changed him from my father into this monster and use it to control others. He bestowed that gift to Madarin and he used it on Sprx. I fear it is more important than ever that you retrieve these items, otherwise he'll use the rest of them the way he used them on Sprx. The longer that evil is in him, the harder it'll be to bring him back."

"What else can we do?" asked Chiro.

'Well I would think that you should try and reach the real Sprx however you can, try and summon him out to fight the evil; that'll make it easier to defeat. But before you do, you'll need to find. . . Something to hold the items in; otherwise their powers can't be contained. The instructions are in here, somewhere. My theory is, he's trying to possess all of you so there will nothing to stop him, these items are the key to separating the spirit from its host."

'So that means. . .?"

"Yes; if it works on Sprx, it can ultimately be used to bring back the Alchemist."

"Okay, now we just need a plan to lure the real Sprx out from whatever it is that's controlling him," began Alana once they had all assembled into the robot. "Any ideas?"

"Well, first thing's first, we need to construct the container you mentioned, otherwise this whole incident could just wind up repeating itself," said Gibson.

"Right," said Alana. 'Why don't you and Otto see what you can do and the rest of us will try to address the other issue."

"You got it!" Otto said cheerfully as he followed Gibson out of the room.

"Okay!" began Alana. "Now, what did you all do the last time this happened?"

"We used the Power Primate," said Chiro.

"Yes, I know, but there must have been something else," Alana went on. "Otherwise, you would've done that right away. Something must have happened to get his guard down, something that got past the possession and to the actual Sprx."

Antauri and Chiro looked at Nova who simply looked confused.

"What?"

"It was you," explained Chiro. 'Somehow, you reasoned with him."

Nova turned away. 'Ya know, I'd really rather not think about it right now."

"Nova, I know this is hard for you.' Said Antauri. "But you cannot deny the connection you and Sprx have. You used it last time and you may have ultimately saved his life. I believe it can work again."

"And what do I do exactly?" she demanded with anger in her voice. "Become weak and vulnerable again! Unable to fight back when he tries to hurt me? Why do I have to be the one to see up close that he's not the same anymore? Why me?"

Antauri saw that this outburst was unlike any she had had before. "Because you are able to see past all that," he said firmly. "You know him better than anyone, and right now that could help get him back. We need you, Nova. Sprx needs you."

Antauri couldn't have been more right. The Skeleton King had Sprx locked up with no conceivable means of escape. Whenever he tried to use the Power Primate to contact the team, he felt the evil with him rise to the surface and attempt to overpower him, as if the very thought of the team brought it to life. _Oh man_, he thought, _if it's this bad just thinking about them, what'll happen when they try to rescue me? _And he knew they would too, they always did eventually. He knew he couldn't fight this on his own, but what if someone go hurt again in the process? What if. . . Nova. . .

"So," came the oh so familiar voice of the enemy of the universe. "Looks like you're right back where you started." He gave an evil laugh of victory.

"Think again!" Sprx retorted. "I escaped once, and I'll do it again."

"Oh, foolish monkey," said Skeleton King. "I'm depending on just that."

"We finished!" said Otto joyfully as he and Gibson emerged after nearly an hour working on the project.

"Great!" said Chiro. "Where is it?"

"Well," began Gibson, a bit unsure. "It's not entirely finished . . . you see it's. well. . ." he sighed and brought the item from behind his back.

The team stared at it.

"It's a jar," stated Alana, confused.

Gibson sighed again. "Yes, I realize that,' he said. "But we followed the instructions perfectly. And. . . it was a jar."

"So a jar is going to contain one of the most evil forces in the universe?" asked Nova skeptically.

"Apparently so."

"But wait!" said Otto. "It's not done yet!"

Gibson was becoming restless. "Otto, please enough of this!"

"But the book said!"

"STOP!" demanded Chiro. "What are you talking about?"

"The book mentioned some form of magic," admitted Gibson. "But it seems highly preposterous and anyway it doesn't instruct how to do it!"

"Let me see,' said Alana as he handed her the book. She examined it carefully, until she finally seemed to understand. "I think. . . I think I can do it."

"Are you sure?" asked Antauri.

"Yes," answered Alana, attempting more to convince herself. "My father. . . I think he taught me it. I mean, he was always trying to get me interested in science ad magic, but I didn't really have a talent for either, but I remember he felt this spell was important. Hold on." She went over to the small bag of things she had brought with her and looked through it, returning with what appeared to be a wand.

"Alana, do you know what you're doing?" asked Chiro.

"Yes," she said with more confidence. She locked eyes with the jar and flicked her wrist ever so slightly and tapped it lightly, a golden glow surrounded it for a few seconds. "I think that means it worked,' she stated, amazed.

"All right then," said Gibson. "That's one part done, now, have you decided what to do about Sprx?"

"I think I have an idea," Nova stated.

"Any moment now, they'll be here to get you little monkey," the Skeleton said in his condescending tone.

"What are you planning?" Sprx demanded from where he was being contained. 'I won't let you hurt them.'

"I wouldn't be so worried," he replied. 'It won't be I who is hurting them." He laughed diabolically. "No, let's see where they are." He made his way over to a crystal ball that stood in the center of the room. He waved his hand over it, but became frustrated as it didn't do what he expected. "What! WHAT? MANDARIN!" His minion entered the room. "Yes, my lord?"

"Why can I not see the hyper force?" he demanded. "What is blocking my magic?"

"I don't know, my lord!" Mandarin replied. "There is no magic more powerful than yours!"

The Skeleton King was not convinced. "No," he said. "But there was."

"How ya doing Nova?" asked Otto from his foot cruiser.

"I've been better." She answered from Sprx's fist rocket. "And to think, he said I'd never be able to pilot this thing." The rocket tipped upside-down. "Maybe he was right. Nobody ever repeat that."

"Alana? What about you?" asked Chiro. "Think you can handle the foot cruiser?"

"Oh, I'm fine," her voice suggesting otherwise. 'Um, did I mention I can't drive? Because I really can't."

"Okay," replied Chiro. "Just try not to start hyperventilating again."

"Okay Nova, knowing Sprx, he won't be able to resist someone challenging him from his own ground." Said Gibson.

"But she's in the air." Said Otto.

"He means on what Sprx is good at." Antauri offered. "There's nothing Sprx's takes more pride in than his piloting skills, and he never says no when Nova challenges him."

"Sure you're okay, Nova?" asked Chiro.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Said Nova. "No problem I-."

But before she could finish, something hit the fist rocket and sent Nova down. The team heard her surprised gasp and looked to see Sprx on a ship of the Skeleton King's, large and weapon loaded. That evil grin still on his face, laughing. Nova quickly got control of the fist rocket.

"All right team, we're going to land," instructed Chiro, once a meteor came into view. "Nova, you try and get Sprx to follow you, we'll be ready and waiting."

"You got it Chiro!" as soon as the hit to the ground, the fist rocket went out on it's own.

"What are you doing in there?" mocked the evil Sprx, laughing. "Trying to impress me?" then he fired a large missile at her.

"As if." Replied Nova, launching missiles of her own back at him.

"Nova, are you trying to kill him?" asked Alana.

"Don't worry, I've found that violence is the best way to get his attention." She replied with a bit of laughter in her voice.

"She's right, ya know." Said Otto.

"Okay team, while she's up there, we need to strategize down here," said Chiro, as everyone entered the meteor. "Prepare to surround him once he crash lands."

"Right. Alana are you ready with the jar?" asked Gibson.

"I was born ready." She replied. "Well, not really. I mean hand a baby a jar and I think they-."

"Alana!"

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"Alright Nova, shoot him down so we can get him in view." Said Chiro.

"Like I need a reason," she said getting ready to fire another missile. " You're going down Sparky."

"Don't call me Sparky!" said Sprx, getting ready to launch his own missile. They both managed to dodge the attack of the other, and the battle became more intense.

"Face it Nova," said the possessed Sprx. 'You can't possibly hope to beat me!"

"You might wanna think again," she replied, her anger increasing.

"Nova please, just go back," this time the voice was quiet and sincere, and it sounded like the old Sprx. Had she reached him somehow?

"Sprx. . .?"

But the evil side quickly regained control and quickly sought to take advantage of Nova being off guard. Nova saw this and quickly fired a counter attack. Both their fingers pressed on the buttons at the same time, and launched. Each others rocket hit the other, sending each spiraling downward. Nova quickly regained control, while Sprx crash landed not far from the team.

Nova landed and joined the team as they went after Sprx, whose rocket was in shambles. The team rushed out and found Sprx trapped inside, unconscious. Nova reached in to help him, then rethought it and readied herself for attack. The group gathered around him, ready to extract the wickedness within him.

"Is he okay?" asked Otto.

"He's unconscious it seems, but he'll be fine, so long as we act fast." Said Antauri. "Everyone be ready."

The monkeys and Chiro summoned the power primate and focused their energy at Sprx. And just like the first time, it was released, but now more thoroughly. The team saw the evil, which had possessed him come out above them like a black fire. Alana focused and was able to entrapped it in the jar, for it was drawn to the magic. It swirled around as if angry, like a mini tornado. They all stared at Sprx lying on the ground.

"Did it work?" asked Otto.

"It seemed almost too easy," commented Chiro.

"Ow, my head," said Sprx, lifting his head slightly from the ground and amongst the rumble. "What happened?"

"Sprx!" exclaimed Nova, kneeling down and wrapping her arms around him.

"I'm getting the feeling I was missed." He said cockily, and Nova then pushed him back down. "Yeah, no. "she said. Gibson and Chiro went over and balanced him of both of their shoulders and carried him back to the robot.

"Aww! Look at it!" exclaimed Otto looking at the jar in Alana's hands as they were walking. "It's like a baby tornado on fire! And covered in ash. And evil."

"It's not cute Otto, "said Chiro. "That thing possessed Sprx and tried to kill us."

"Oh," said Otto. "I think we should name it Tim."

"Why Tim, pray tell?" asked Gibson.

"Everyone likes a Tim!" said Otto. "But we don't like it, right? So…lets name it…. Curtis."

"It's not a pet, Otto." Said Antauri. "We still need to figure out exactly what it is."

"Whatever it is, its bouncing around like crazy," said Alana. "And its super cold."

"Perhaps because the lily it originated from resided ina tundra like environment," commented Gibson as they re entered the robot. H eand Chiro gently set Sprx down.

"Will he be okay?" asked Alana.

"Well, he should be fine," replied Gibson. "But I'll need to run some tests and have Sprx under constant monitering until I'm sure. Who'd like the first watch?"

"I'll do it," said Nova solemnly.

"Very well," answered Gibson. "Help me transfer him to the medical bay." And they took their leave.

"In the meantime, I think we should try and make our way to the next object," suggested Alana. "There's only two left, and the next one doesn't seem so bad."

"I showed it to Gibson earlier, he had a general idea of the possible coordinates," said Alana. "Want me to upload them?"

"It would be most helpful," answered Anaturi.

Alana went over to the super computer. "Ya, know I'm not entirely sure how to work this but I'll probably figure it out," she said. "I mean, I figured out how to work the foot cruiser!"

"Actually I put it on automatic before you got in," admitted Otto.

"Well there goes my new found self confidence,' she remarked sadly as she typed.

**I hope you guys don't mind my OC, I'm mostly using her to give more background on the monkeys from stuff I thought would be possible. I know I hate when people's characters become Mary Sues, so if you feel Alana is becoming one DO NOT HESITATE TO WARN ME!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm really trying to give little insights to the monkeys' past, so let me know what you think of the one here and the previous ones. Feel free to any good moments you think could happen before they met Chiro that would be fun to add! Disclaimer and whatnot.**

Nova sat beside Sprx as he laid in the medical bay whilst Gibson ran as many tests as he could think of.

"This stinks!" complained Sprx, angry. "As soon as I thought I was done making all you worry, it all happens again!"

"Sprx!" pleaded Nova. "Don't blame yourself; it wasn't your fault. We all know Skeleton King is willing to do and there's no telling what he's capable of. The important part is you're okay." She said, talking his hand. "He is okay, right Gibson?"

"From what I can tell he should be fine,' answered Gibson, looking over some papers. "I just need to scan a few more things first. I'll be back as soon as I can."

And he left.

Sprx sighed. "Hey Nova?" he said. "I'm sorry that you have to babysit me like this, I know it can't be fun."

She smiled. 'Nah, I don't really mind! Besides, I feel like we haven't talked in forever, with all this. . ."

"War going on," he finished solemnly. "This war going on because of me."

Nova's face narrowed. "Don't start that again!"

"What? It's the truth!" he rebutted. "If I had just been strong enough to maintain control, the Skeleton King would probably be defeated right now!"

"Sprx, you don't know that!"

"Yes I do! I know you won't admit it, but you know it too. This is all my fault! I let the Skeleton King win, I endangered the team, I endangered you. . .!"

"Sprx, stop! Nothing is going to get better unless you stop blaming yourself for this," her voice was calm and steady. "I know how you feel, do you know how many times I've blamed my temper for something stupid? But you always forgive me, and I've forgiven you. You just need to forgive yourself."

He groaned. "And what if I don't wanna?"

"Then I'll make you," she said flatly.

"Oh Nova, you always had a way with words," said Sprx sarcastically. She smiled. "What?"

"Normally, I'd hit you for that,' she said. "But I'm just glad to see you're back."

He returned her smile. "Well there's a first time for everything,"

_It's not the first time_, she thought, _but I guess you must know that._

"So Gibson, how is he?" Chiro asked a couple of hours later, after Gibson had successfully run all possible tests.

"All seems well," he responded. "He is very weak though, it may take awhile for him to fully recover al he's been through. Nevertheless, I believe that it is still imperative that he remain under constant surveillance."

"Is Nova still with him?" asked Otto.

"I belive so, yes."

"I think I'll go check on them," volunteered Alana, as she made her way to the medical bay.

Alana came to find Sprx passed out cold on the examination bed and Nova next to him sitting on a chair battling the urge to doe off, still holding his hand. Alana couldn't help but admire the tender scene, but then remembered why she came in the first place.

"Nova," she whispered, gently touching her shoulder. "Nova, you need to rest."

"No, someone has to watch him," she replied, her voice confirming her need for sleep. "It's my shift."

"You've kind of hogged the last three shifts," Alana said with a laugh. "I'll make sure nothing happens. You need your strength, go rest." Nova reluctantly made her way out of the room, undamagingly grateful for the chance at some shut eye.

Sprx felt the emptiness in his hand and woke up. "Nova?" he said, confused.

"She went to get some sleep," Alana whispered. "I'm just here to make sure you're okay. Go back to sleep."

"I'm sorry you all have to do this," he said with a sigh. "I'm being a bigger pain than usual. I'm sick of sleeping, I need to get out of here."

"Well there's nothing to do right now," said Alana. "Gibson, Otto, and I just finished assembling the next container. Everyone's resting now and preparing for the next stop, and you're no exception."

"I'm not tired."

"I could always get Gibson to lecture you, I've heard that puts you right to sleep."

"That's really not necessary," he answered with a laugh.

Alana smiled, and then looked and the red monkey. "It's almost uncanny," she said.

"What?"

"You're so much like him,"

"GIBSON?"

"No," she said, laughing. "No. . . your namesake."

"What?"

"When my father said you'd make an excellent pilot, I thought we should name you after my favorite pilot, Sparks of Ratava, the 77th. He came from an extremely long line of pilots. So I named you Sprx, but I decided to spell it differently so my father pronounced it S-P-R-X, and I added the 77 because I thought it was cool."

"Wait. . . you named me?"

"Oh, yeah. The one thing my father let me do was name the team. I mean, of course you all had names before he discovered you, but we still needed _something_ to call you, so I picked names I thought suited you all. But you never did like 'Sparky', which really disappointed me."

"Really? So, what about Brain Drain? Where'd his name come from?"

"Oh, I named him after a colleague of my father's 'Mr. Hal Gibson', sadly he had passed before his time and he was so intrigued by what my father sought to do, I felt it was appropriate. But he never responded to his full name, so mostly only 'Gibson' stuck."

"What about Antauri?"

"I read somewhere that Antauri means "peaceful one" or "inner peace." I can't remember the language, but it just seemed to fit. The word just felt calming, like if you could use one word to describe him, that'd be it." She laughed. "Otto got his name mainly because he looked like an Otto to me, plus I had always liked that name and how it was spelled the same ways forwards and backwards."

"So, uh, what about Nova?"

She smiled. "I was wondering when you'd ask. Basically, I named her after Supernova, where. . . well I actually don't know what happens, but I saw one once. Me and my. . . well, it was so powerful and balanced. . . my dad said during one a regular star can become as warm as a sun. Something so powerful came from such an unexpected source, I mean, tell me that's not Nova."

"Oh, that's Nova all right," he said. "So, what about-."

"I didn't name Mandarin," she responded quickly, almost reading his mind. "I didn't like him, and I really couldn't think of one. His name came from-." She stopped, realizing she didn't want to share this part of the story. Not now anyway. She sighed. "Okay, well story time's over. You really need to get to sleep."

"Yes sir," he joked, as he turned over to try and fall back to sleep.

The next day, everybody was well rested and eager to continue their journey. But none more than Chiro, who found it difficult to get Jinmay off his mind. Was she okay? How were the others doing? Even without knowing that most of them had already been reprimanded by the Skeleton King, he knew there'd be serious consequences if they didn't return soon.

"Are we getting any closer?" Chiro asked Gibson somewhat impatiently.

"I believe so," he responded. "We've been traveling nonstop, but my reading can't possibly be making sense."

"Whaddaya mean?" asked Otto.

"Well, I couldn't quite decipher what this particular item was exactly, but it gave a rather long and complicated mathematical equation to spell out the coordinates, which of course I found most enjoyable. . ."

"Just get on with it," commented Sprx

"Right," continued Gibson. "Well, I originally thought we'd be lead to another small planetoid, but instead it appears as though we're heading for some sort of sun."

"A sun?" screamed Alana as she began to pace. "We're going to perish! Oh my, what do we do? Will we have to abandon the robot? Are we going to melt? Are we-."

Gibson cleared his throat. "Alana? Alana!" he was unable to get her attention.

Nova stepped beside him. "Let me handle this," she said. "ALANA!"

She froze dead in her tracks. "Yes?"

"We can simply turn off the auto pilot when we get too close," said Gibson.

"Oh," she said, he voice becoming quiet. "Well now I'm embarrassed."

"How are we supposed to get to whatever it is we're looking for if its on

a sun?" asked Chiro worried.

"Don't worry!" said Otto happily. "I've got fire proof gear for everyone!" He quickly ran out and returned with a large box with contained the suits. Alana looked at them nervously. The Hyper Force were the heroes here, not her. She just knew her nerves would get the best of her.

"Ya know," she said, he voice unsteady. "I was thinking, shouldn't _someone_ stay here with the robot?'

"Well," began Gibson. "I supposes-."

"I volunteer!" she said immediately as if she were volunteering as tribute in place of the entire cast of Wicked in the 74th annual Hunger Games.

"Aw you don't need to do that!" replied Otto. "The robot will be okay! Besides, you don't wanna miss all the fun! Look! I made you one too!"

"Oh," she said, attempting to hide her fear. "And it really is lovely, Otto. But. . . um, I really don't think the robot should be left unattended. I mean won't it get. . . lonely?" she couldn't say she didn't try.

Chiro sensed her hesitance at the thought of possible confrontation on this mission. "Alana's right," he said. "With everything that's going on right now, we may need her to be in the robot in case of emergency."

She discretely let out a sigh of relief and shot Chiro a smile of gratitude.

"Sprx," began Antauri. "Perhaps you should also stay in the robot."

"What? Why me?"

"I fear you may not be fully recovered. And, there is the matter of. . . "

"You think it'll happen again." He said bluntly.

"Well, not necessarily."

"You don't trust me."

"Sprx it's not that we don't trust you," said Chiro. "It's just that we have no idea what we're up against, and we can't risk anything happening to anyone. We can't lose you again."

"Gibson said I was fine!"

"It's true," said Gibson. "According to my tests Sprx seems to be back to normal, although I honestly still don't fully understand exactly what it was that controlled him in the first place, and I-."

"He's fine," interrupted Nova, stepping beside the red monkey. Sprx looked at her, somewhat surprised.

"But Nova—" began Gibson.

"No," she said firmly. "He'll be fine. I won't let it happen again." Sprx looked at her with pure gratitude and she gave him a reassuring smile.

Antauri nodded. "I trust Nova's intuition. I suggest we prepare for departure."

"Right," agreed Chiro. "The scanner says we should be there in a few minutes, let's make sure we have everything.' And the monkeys went to do just that.

"Hey, Nova, wait," said Sprx, running after her when everyone else had left. "Um. . . I just wanted to thank you for uh, what you said."

She smiled softly. "No problem, that's what friends are for," she said as she left the room.

"Yeah," he laughed weakly when he was alone. "_Friends_."

**I have a weakness for writing Spova moments, no matter how little. Okay, so I kind of realize almost nothing really happened in this chapter, but that's because the next one is going to be intense! It probably won't be up until after the 4th, so happy Independence Day to those in the states! Remember to review, it really motivates me to continue!**


	5. Chapter 5

"There it is," said Gibson quietly as the burning sphere came into view.

"Wow," whispered Nova in amazement. "I'd say it was beautiful, but then I remember it could fry us to a crisp."

"_You know, I was going to say the same thing about you_," Sprx thought to himself. Little did he know, Nova was almost expecting him to say something like that. And he almost did. But he was trying harder not to be so . . . well, he wasn't really sure. He just couldn't ignore this feeling that things would never be the same between him and Nova, and he wasn't exactly sure what that meant.

"Okay team, I say it's time we prepare to board," said Chiro. "Make sure we have everything we need, and stay alert. I don't wanna be there any longer than we have to be."

'Oh oh! I'll bring Curtis!" said Otto gleefully as we danced with the container holding the evil which had possessed Sprx.

"Otto, put that down immediately!" demanded Gibson, angrily. "That is not a toy! If you break it, who knows what will happen! That thing nearly killed us once already!"

Otto's face saddened. "Oh . . . you're probably right. I'll leave Curtis here." He solemnly walked over and placed the container in his chair.

"Gibson was that really necessary?" asked Antauri.

Gibson sighed but did not look at him. "Perhaps not," he admitted. "But we can't afford anymore delays, Antauri. We need to be at our best and you know how Otto can be!"

"We all have our faults, Gibson, but they do not decide our futures. That is done by our actions."

Chiro nodded. "Antauri's right," he agreed. "We need to stand together more than ever now. Ready team?"

The monkeys gathered around their leader as they donned their fire-proof gear. Chiro took a deep breath and lead them out of the robot into the space as they headed toward their fiery destination.

"Good luck!" Alana spoke into the communicator they had left her. "Try not to melt," she added quietly, mostly to herself.

She let out a sigh and looked around the large control room as she spun herself around in her chair. She didn't have a clue what she was supposed to be doing exactly. Just then, the monitor began to buzz. Someone was tying to communicate with her! Was it the hyper force? Were they in trouble already? Oh no! Before she could officially begin to panic, the image of a teenage girl with pink hair pulled into two pigtails looked down at her.

"Monkey team!" she pleaded, the signal coming and going. "Come in monkey team!"

"Jinmay," whispered Alana to herself, he eyes growing with fear.

Meanwhile, the team had successfully made it to the surface of the small sun. Even through Otto's effective fire-proof suits, they could still feel the heat beneath and around them.

'I must say, it is rather scorching, isn't it?" panted Gibson. "I propose we get this over with as soon as possible."

"Agreed," said Chiro, already beginning to sweat. "We need to make sure we stick together team. No one leaves the group, got it?"

His team nodded and proceeded to follow their leader. Just then, Sprx felt something in his hand, he looked down and saw someone was holding his hand. It was Nova.

"Nova?" he asked, flabbergasted. 'What are you-?"

"Come on Sprx," she began, a matter-of-factly. "I know you. I'm not having you run off again trying to be a hero. I'm keeping my eye on you." They began to walk hand in hand.

Sprx smiled to himself "Suit yourself," he whispered happily.

"So how long will it take before we find whatever it is we're looking for?" Chiro asked Gibson.

The blue simian searched his memory. He didn't have the book with him; for fear that it would get burned or lost. "As I recall we're looking for an ember of sorts."

Sprx and Nova stopped. "Wait wait wait," said Sprx. "You mean to tell me that we're looking for fire on a sun?"

The rest of the group excluding Gibson stopped at the realization as well. "Yes," replied Gibson, then realizing he was the only one still proceeding. "What?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" demanded Nova, going into a rage forgetting she was still holding Sprx's hand.

"Ow ow ow," whispered the red monkey, painfully. She released his hand for a moment and blushed apologetically.

"Nova, calm down," insisted Gibson. "I know exactly what I am doing. We merely need to move toward the sphere's core."

"All right," said Nova resentfully, taking Sprx's hand again. "Let's go."

So they continued walking for about an hour, and needless to say the team was quickly becoming exhausted. Otto once again attempted to lift their spirits with a rousing game of "I Spy" but the heat was getting even to him.

"How much farther Gibson?" asked Chiro at last.

"We're practically there," he responded. 'If my calculations are correct, as they usually are, we should approaching it. . . now!"

The team stopped to look around, not exactly sure what to expect. But it suddenly became clear to them. Amongst the red and oranges that simmered to create the scenery, there stood a flame larger than any other, glowing blue with intensity.

Sprx saw Nova's eyes widened as her hand grasped his own more tightly.

"Gibson. . . is it-" began Sprx, but he couldn't find the words to finish. "Chiro?"

"Yeah?"

"I know you said not to split up, but I really think, I mean it's just-"

"I understand Sprx," said his leader. "You stay here with Nova; the rest of us can retrieve it. Just don't move."

He nodded and watched the rest of the hyper force move toward the sapphire flame.

"Monkey team, are you there?" pleaded Jinmay again. Alana was frozen. "Monkey team?"

"Uh, no they're not at the moment," she responded her voice shaky. "They're on a mission."

"I know but- wait, who is this?"

"Oh, I'm uh staying with the robot," she replied. "Alana, I mean. Uh, I'm Alana."

"Okay then,' said Jinmay through the static. "We need help back on Shuggazoom, the Skeleton King is becoming too powerful. We need backup."

"The team isn't here. . , is there anything I can do, maybe?"

"I don't know; just tell them to get back as soon as possible! And don't-"the signal was lost.

"Jinmay? Jinmay!" pleaded Alana as she frantically pressed buttons. "Please be okay."

Sprx and Nova sat in silence, not making eye contact with one another (though still holding hands, much to Sprx's secret delight). Sprx noticed Nova was shaking.

"Hey what's wrong?" he asked. "I thought it was the cold you didn't like."

"Yeah, but lately I'm not all that fond of fires either," she said weakly, unknowingly squeezing his hand. He sighed.

"Nova I-"

"Don't," she stopped him. "You've apologize enough for a lifetime, okay? I just wanna get out of here before-"

Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake violently, cracks appeared and the two were separated by hot fragments of magma that flooded from the fractures.

"-before something like that happens!" finished Nova. "Sprx, stay there!" and she flew over to him. "We need to get to the others."

They rest of the team had just cornered the flame when the ground began to shake, and were fighting to keep their balance.

"It must be some kind of force field," Gibson explained over the loud rumbling that began. "When we broke it, the ember's security kicked it; I predict it's only a matter of time before the planet self destructs!"

"Cool!" said Otto.

"No Otto it is most defiantly NOT cool!" replied Gibson angrily.

"Let's just hurry up and capture it before we all die!" ordered Chiro. "Otto, you know what to do!"

"On it!" said Otto, holding the container for the flame, moving carefully toward it.

"Careful Otto!" advised Gibson. "Chiro are you quite sure Otto was the wisest choice for this task?"

"I can do it!" protested his teammate. "I'm not stupid!"

"Earlier evidence begs to differ!"

"Gibson! Otto!" interjected Antauri "This is no time for bickering!"

"Ya know I'm getting real tired of you always making fun of me," said Otto angrily. "I' don't always mess things up, ya know!"

"Otto, focus!" insisted Antauri.

But Otto did not focus. He was so caught up in his rage that instead of trapping the ember, he touched it. Instantly, its light became brighter to the point where it was almost blinded. Sprx and Nova ran to the rest of the group, but collapsed as they shielded their eyes from the light. Somehow the light only increased the ferocity of the earthquake, full mountains sprouted from the ground like daisies, and from them boulder after boulder came tumbling down.

Chiro saw Otto had changed, just like Sprx had. He saw it in his eyes and they way that he smiled. Luckily he was so distracted by the fire he held that Chiro found it easily to surprise him and tackle it away. Antauri followed and acted quickly, grabbing the container after Otto had dropped it when Chiro tackled him. Luckily, the power had not been in him as long as it was Sprx and the evil escaped him once he let go. Antauri caught the flame in the container, but the chaos around them continued.

"What . . . what happened? What's going on?" asked a very confused Otto.

"No time to explain, we need to get back to the robot!" ordered Chiro. "This place is a ticking time bomb!"

The team followed in pursuit, dodging suddenly appearing gaping holes as best they could, and the large lava-boulders that quickly fell from the newly born mountain tops. They tried to take to the skies, but the suits prevented their rockets from fully functioning properly. They did the best they could, but as Nova was dodging one of her left, another suddenly came in from her right that she could not see.

But Sprx did.

"Nova!" he yelled as he jumped to push her out of the way. He was not so lucky, the heavy boulder landed on his legs.

"Sprx!" Nova cried, Chiro rushed over to help her carry Sprx as they continued to run.

"Why would you do that?" demanded Nova.

Sprx squinted in pain. "I've done worse," he responded.

"We should be close to the super robot by now!" panted Gibson.

"Why don't I see it?" asked Chiro. "It should be right-"

Then he realized why he didn't see the super robot. It was gone.


End file.
